Drapery finishing machine



United States Patent [72] Inventor Eldred E. Soeflkcr 2805 Sycamore Lane N., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55427 [21] AppLNo. 739,282 [22] Filed June 24, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 8, 1970 [54] DRAPERY FINISHING MACHINE 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs. 52 U.S.C1. 223/32;

8/1493; 15/89, 15/308;68l5 1 [51] Int. Cl D06j U105 I D06g l/OO [50] Field olSearch .1 8/1492, 1 149.3; 26/25; 223/28, 30, 32; 15/89, 90, 91, 308, l

31 1; 34/(lnquired); 38/(lnquired) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,355,221 8/1944 15/311X 2,954,907 10/1960 223/32UX 3,154,228 l0/l964 223/32 3,204,271 9/1965 l5/40X 3,315,852 4/1967 Getchell et al 223/32 FOREIGN PATENTS.

142,093 4/1919 Great Britain 15/308 Primary Examiner--Daniel Blum Attorney-Williamson, Palmatier and Bains ABSTRACT: A drapery finishing machine having a pair of spaced apart, horizontally disposed rotors on each of which a plurality of flexible fingers are supported, and an overhead track section on which a drapery is slidably supported, the track section being movable vertically with respect to said ro- 1 tors in order to carry the drapery between the rotating, flexible fingers which engage the opposite sides of the drapery. The flexible fingers are staggered on the rotors and are so spaced as to engage the opposite faces of the drapery in the folds where pleats are to be formed. Apertured steam conduits serve to inject dry steam onto a drapery as it is being carried between the rotating, flexible fingers to assist in setting the pleats and removing wrinkles. Drapery ingress and egress track sections are provided in horizontal alignment with the aforesaid overhead track section and are preferably interconnected in a continuous conveyor arrangement.

PATENTED DEC 8 I970 SHEET 2 OF 2 Q r w N5 5 0 a w E DRAPERY FINISHING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the cleaning industry there has been a longstanding need for a machine or apparatus capable of finishing draperies at a high rate of speed and at a relatively low cost as the draperies are removed from a Cleaning operation. In the normal drapery cleaning process, a drapery is first washed in a solvent, the solvent is then extracted in a centrifuge and the drapery is dried. After the drying step, the drapery is subjected to a final finishing operation in which the pleats are set, wrinkles are removed and the drapery is stretched in order to preclude any shrinkage as a result of the washing and drying operations. Most often, the finishing operation entails the tedious, costly and time-consuming procedure of manually pressing the drapery with a steam iron to remove all wrinkles and set th the pleats. The few machines which are available on the market for accomplishing the finishing operation are extremely expensive and have not proven to be particularly adaptable to the high volume processing of draperies.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Having in mind the foregoing disadvantages associated with present methods and machines for finishing draperies in cleaning establishments, I have designed a drapery finishing machine and process particularly characterized by high speed and simplicity of operation coupled with the effective removal of wrinkles and the forming of pleats.

These basic objectives are realized by the utilization of two, oppositely disposed rotors having a plurality of flexible fingers thereon which revolve against the opposite sides of a drapery to be finished. The drapery is suspended from an elevated support member between the aforesaid rotors, and the finishing operation is carried out by producing relative, vertical motion between the drapery and the revolving, flexible fingers, the fingers being so spaced and staggered as to interleave and thereby engage the drapery in the folds formed by the pleats set at the head of the drapery.

A Particularly advantageous feature of my improved drapery finishing apparatus resides in the use of an overhead track section from which a drapery may be suspended by carriers slidable on the track, the elevated track section being movable vertically in order to draw the drapery between the flexible fingers revolving with the aforesaid rotors. In order to insure the proper smoothing and forming of the drapery, steam is injected onto the drapery as it passes between the revolving rotors.

As a further beneficial aspect of my invention, I provide overhead, ingress and egress track sections which are alined with the aforesaid, vertically movable track section and are preferably interconnected to form a continuous track, thereby permitting the rapid conveying of draperies from a laundering and drying operation to the finishing machine and thence onto the egress or outlet section of the track for removal and storage. The slide carriers for the draperies may be then be moved around the track to the inlet side in position for the suspension of another drapery thereon.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become readily apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals have been used to designate like elements throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front, perspective view of the drapery finishing machine of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top, plan view of the spaced apart rotors and attached flexible fingers showing the manner in which the fingers engage a drapery positioned therebetween; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, rear perspective view of the vertically movable track section from which a drapery is suspended between the rotors of FIG. 2.

' finishing of draperies as they are removed from a cleaning operation, and to that end the machine comprises a unique drapery suspension and conveying mechanism in combination with mechanical means for efficiently smoothing and stretching the drapery and the folds between pleats. This combination of elements is best shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1 wherein the finishing machine is generally designated by reference numeral 1. The mechanical means for removing wrinkles from cleaned draperies comprises a pair of spaced apart, generally horizontally disposed rotors 2 and 4 which will now be described with reference to both FIGS. 1 and 2. Rotor unit 2 is constructed from end plates 3 and 5 and intermediate plate 6 between which longitudinal cross braces 7 extend. Rotor unit 4 similarly consists of end plates 8 and 9, intermediate plate 10 and cross braces 11. Attached -to cross braces 7 and 11 are a plurality of flexible, drapery engaging fingers 12 and 13. Fingers 12 and 13 could be constructed in various ways from different types of materials, the primary requirement being that they have soft, flexible end tentacles which will gently brush against the drapery to be finished. Soft, nylon brushes having a shank portion connected to cross braces 7 and 11 could be employed. However, in the preferred embodiment of my invention which I have shown, I use nylon ropes for flexible fingers 12 and 13. Each of the rope sections 12 and 13 has a knot 12a or 13a formed therein in order to provide weight and mass whereby the rope sections will be thrown outwardly by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of rotor units 2 and 4. Soft, loose, free-hanging fiber strands 12b and 1312 are provided at the outer ends of rope sections 12 and 13. Ropes 12 and 13 are provided about the entire periphery of rotor units 2 and 4 by attaching them to circumferentially spaced cross braces 7 and 11. Rope sections 12 and 13 are also longitudinally spaced on each of the cross braces 7 and 11 and are staggered with respect to each other so that they will interleave in the manner shown in FIG. 2 in engagement with the opposite faces of a drapery 52 when rotors 2 and 4 are revolved. The manner in which flexible fingers 12 and 13 function in the drapery finishing operation is described more fully below with respect to the overall operation of the machine.

Rotor units 2 and 4 are rotatably supported on horizontal shafts or spindles l4 and 15 which are drivingly connected to output shafts 17 and 19 of motors 16 and 18 by couplings 20 and 22 shown in FIG. 2. The rotor and motor assemblies are supported on upright standards 23, 24; 25 and 26, adjustable motor-mounting brackets or plates 28 and 30 being secured to the top ends of standards 24 and 25. Horizontal slots 27 and 29 in bracket plates 28 and 30 permit the horizontal shifting of motors l6 and 18 attached thereto with respect to standards 24 and 25. In order that rotor shafts 14 and 15 may be shifted with motor output shafts 17 and 19 to which they are coupled, standards 2326 are slotted as is indicated at 32 with respect to upright standard 23 in FIG. I. The outer ends of rotor shafts l4 and 15 opposite drive motors 16 and 18 are rotatably supported within bearings 34 and 36 (FIG. 2) fastened to the slidably adjustable mounting plates 35 and 37. Slots are provided in plates 35 and 37 in a manner similar to that shown with respect to slots 27 and 29 in plates 28 and 30 so that bearing plates 35 and 37 may be shifted with rotor units 2 and 4 by simply loosening the fasteners attaching them to the upper ends of upright standards 23 and 26.

Also shown in FIG. 1 are a pair of steam distribution pipes 38 and 40 supported on bracket arms 44 and 45 extending upwardly from standards 23, 24, 25 and 26, nozzles or orifices 42 in steam pipes 38 and 40 serving to direct steam onto a drapery 52 for a purpose hereinafter explained. In the particular embodiment of my invention which I have shown in FIG. 1, I provide a pit l6 beneath the finishing machine so that a drapery 52 may be lowered between rotors 2 and 4.

For the purpose of supporting a drapery 52 in proper position to be acted upon by flexible fingers 12 and 13, I provide an overhead suspension and conveyor track arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Drapery suspending ta track section 48 is channel-shaped in order to provide a track 49 within which carriers 50 are slidably supported. Eyelets or apertured extensions 51 project outwardly from slide carriers 50 and serve to support the suspension hooks (not shown) attached to the heading of a drapery 52. Slide carriers 50 may be moved to the proper, spaced positions on track 48 to coincide with pleats 53 to which-suspension hooks would be attached in the customary manner. Track section 48 is slidably supported from the ceiling above machine 1 by support arms 56 and 57. As is most clearly shown in FIGS. 3, vertically extending guide members 54 and 55 are also channel-shaped to provide slide tracks 58 within which runners 60 mounted on the back of track section 48 may move back and forth. In order to raise and lower track section 48 and guide members 54 and 55, I provide power means in the form of winches or cable spools 62 and 63 driven by an electric motor 70. Lengths of cable 66 and 67 are coiled around winches 62 and 63 from which they extend over pulleys 64 and 65 to a point of connection with track section 48. Drive motor 70 is mounted on bracket 72 and is directly connected to cable spool 62. Rotary power from motor 70 is simultaneously imparted to winches 62 and 63 by connecting shaft 68 extending therebetween. Stationary ingress and egress track sections 74 and 76 are also suspended from the ceiling above machine 1 by supports 75 and 77 in horizontal alignment with track section 48 when it is in its raised, rest position. Track sections 74 and 76 are channelshaped to conform to the shape of track 48 so that slide carriers 50 may be moved therealong to convey a drapery 52 onto track section 48 and remove it therefrom. Preferably, track sections 74 and 76 are interconnected in a continuous conveyor circuit to permit the operator to quickly and easily move slide carriers 50 from egress track section 76 back into position on ingress track section 74 after a finished drapery has been removed therefrom.

In the normal drapery cleaning operation, the draperies are first washed in a solvent, such as perchloroethylene, in a washing machine and then passed to an extractor, ordinarily a centrifugal-type of extracting machine, in which the solvent is I track section 48 with motor driven winches 62 and 63. As

removed. Thereafter, the drapery is subjected to a drying process in which any remaining cleaning solvent is vaporized, and recovered if desired. The drapery is then ready for the finishing operation which may be accomplished efficiently and at a high rate of speed by the apparatus which I have described above and indicated generally by reference numeral 1. In order to prepare the machine for operation, rotors 2 and 4 are adjusted horizontally towards or away from each other by means of adjustable mounting brackets 28, 30, 35 and 37. R0- tors 2 and 4 will be set according to the thickness and texture of the drapery being processed so that flexible fingers 12 and 13 will engage the opposite sides of the drapery with the desired brushing action. As draperies are removed from the dryer they are suspended on ingress track section 74 by being hooked onto a plurality of slide carriers 50 at pleats 53. Pleats 53 may of course be permanent pleats sewn in place at the head of the drapery, or they may be reset after the cleaning operation by means of pleating tape. The drapery 52 is then slid from ingress track section 74 onto vertically movable track section 48 by means of slide carriers 50. Motor 70 is then started to lower track section 48 onguide members 54 and 55 to bring the head of the drapery into position just above rotors 2 and 4, with the main length of drapery 52 hanging down into pit 46 between rotors 2 and 4. Motors 16 and 18, which are preferably of the variable speed type, are then started and rotated at the desired speed for the particular type of drapery that is being finished. The speed of rotors 2 and 4 may be adjusted within a range of 50 to 300 rpm, with 150 r.p.m. being an average speed. Increasing the angular velocity of flexible fingers 12 and 13 with respect to drapery 52 will have the effect of placing greater tension on the drapery and producing more stretching action. With rotors 2 and 4 revolving, drapery 52 is drawn upwardly therebetween by raising drapery 52 passes between the revolving rotors, flexible fingers l2 and 13 softly brush against the opposite sides of the drapery in an interleaving manner as indicated in FIG. 2. R0- tors 2 and 4 revolve in opposite directions as indicated by the rotational arrows in FIG. 1, and as drapery 52 is pulled upwardly between them flexible fingers 12 and 13 will be moving downwardly with respect to the drapery as they contact it. Thus, it not only s will soft, fingers l2 and 13 smooth drapery 52 and remove wrinkles therefrom, but they will also have the effect of producing a downward force on the upwardly rising drapery so as to place it in vertical tension and thereby produce a vertical stretching action. Also, as may be understood most clearly by reference to FIG. 2, opposed and interleaving fingers 12 and 13 will also stretch drapery 52 in a transverse or horizontal direction as they engage the drapery along the desired fold lines below pleats 53. Drapery 52 will have been adjusted initially on overhead track section 48 by sliding carriers 50 in order to position pleats 53 with respect to flexible fingers 12 and 13 so that the fingers will strike drapery 52 in such a manner as to assist in forming and setting the folds.

Simultaneously with the passing of drapery 52 between revolving rotors 2 and 4, jets of dry steam are sprayed onto the drapery from steam distributor pipes 38 and 40. The spraying of steam onto the drapery as soft fingers 12 and 13 brush against it produces a very effective smoothing and wrinkle removing action. When vertically moving track section 48 reaches its upper, rest position in horizontal alignment with ingress and egress track sections 74 and 76, winch motor is stopped, and finished drapery 52 is removed by sliding carriers 50 onto egress track section 76. Drapery 52 may then be lifted off of slide carriers 50 and folded for storage or delivery. Where my preferred embodiment of a continuous, overhead track circuit interconnecting ingress and egress track sections 74 and 76 is employed, slide carriers 50 may then be moved back around to ingress track section 74 in position to receive another washed and dried drapery for finishing.

Those familiar with the drapery cleaning industry will readily appreciate that the finishing machine which I have shown and described is particularly well suited to the rapid processing of draperies in a finishing operation. My finishing machine is particularly adapted for the high volume finishing of relatively rough textured fabrics such as cottons and rayons; fine fabrics such as silk might require additional pressing to supplement the smoothing action of flexible fingers l2 and 13 in order to completely remove all wrinkles therefrom. Also, the stretching of the drapery fabric by revolving fingers 12 and 13 will serve to prevent the shrinkage to a large extent, however, it is conceivable that some slight shrinkage may occur on draperies finished with the machine in this invention. Therefore, my finishing machine is best suited for those applications where some slight shrinkage of the drapery is not critical.

The particular embodiments of my improved drapery finishing machine which I have shown and described are intended to be illustrative only, as various changes could be made while still retaining the rapid, wrinkle removing action of rotors 2 and 4. For example, the necessary relative vertical motion between rotors 2 and 4 and drapery 52 could be achieved by holding elevated track section 48 stationary and moving rotors 2 and 4 up and down with respect thereto as they revolve. Also, production might be increased by suspending track sections 74 and 48 at waist level and feeding a drapery onto track section 48 through an elongated pit or depression into position between rotors 2 and 4. Drapery 52 would then be elevated on guide runners 54 and 55 to draw the drapery upwardly between the revolving rotors. When track section 48 reached a position in alignment with egress track section 76, the finished drapery would be removed by sliding it onto track section 76 at an elevated level. I contemplate that these and other changes in the arrangement size and operation of the various parts of my drapery finishing machine may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A drapery finishing machine comprising:

a pair of spaced apart, oppositely disposed rotors rotatably supported on substantially horizontal axis;

power means for rotating said rotors;

a plurality of flexible fingers longitudinally spaced on each of said rotors, said fingers being so spaced as to interleave with each other as said rotors are revolved;

support means for suspending a drapery between said rotors in position to be contacted on the opposite sides thereof by said flexible fingers when said rotors are revolved, said drapery support means comprising an elevated, horizontally extending track slidably supporting a plurality of separate drapery carriers spaced at predetermined intervals corresponding to the desired pleat locations at the heading of a drapery, said carriers being horizontally ad justed relative to said fingers so that said fingers will strike the drapery at desired longitudinal fold locations defined by the pleat locations;and

means for producing relative, vertical motion between said support means and said rotors as said rotors are revolved by said power means, whereby said flexible fingers will rotate against the opposite sides of said drapery over the entire length thereof and will thus function to remove wrinkles from said drapery.

r 2. A drapery finishing machine comprising:

a pair of spaced apart, oppositely disposed rotors rotatably supported on substantially horizontal axes;

power means for rotating said rotors;

a plurality of flexible fingers longitudinally spaced on each of said rotors, said fingers being so spaced as to interleave with each other as said rotors are revolved;

support means for suspending a drapery between said rotors in position to be contacted on the opposite sides thereof by said flexible fingers when said rotors are revolved, said drapery support means comprising an elevated track slidably supporting suspension means for holding the heading ofa drapery;

ingress and egress track sections in horizontal alignment with said elevated track and shaped to slidably support a said suspension means, whereby a drapery may be hung on said suspension means on said ingress track section, slid onto said elevated track in position between said rotor units, and then removed after the finishing operation by being slid onto said egress track section; and

means for producing relative, vertical motion between said support means and said rotors as said rotors are revolved by said power means, whereby said flexible fingers will rotate against the opposite sides of said drapery over the entire length thereof and will thus function to remove wrinkles from said drapery.

3. A drapery finishing machine as defined in claim 2 wherein: said drapery suspension means comprises a plurality of separate elements, adapted to hold the heading of said drapery at the pleat locations, and slidable on said elevated track and said ingress and egress track sections.

4. A drapery finishing machine as defined in claim 2 wherein: said means for producing relative motion between said drapery support means and said rotors comprises spaced apart, vertical guide members on which said elevated track is vertically movable, and power means for moving said elevated track up and down to thereby carry said drapery between said revolving rotors.

5. A drapery finishing machine as defined in claim 1 wherein: said rotors are adjustable horizontally towards and away from each other in order to insure the proper contact of said flexible fingers with draperies of different textures and thicknesses.

6. A drapery finishing machine as defined in claim 1 wherein: each of said flexible fingers has an enlargeddrapery contact portion at the outer end thereof defining a drapery contact surface of greater cross-sectional area than that of said flexible fingers.

7. A drapery finishing machines as defined in claim 6 wherein: said flexible fingers are strands of rope having soft, tufted ends serving as said enlarged drapery contact portions, said rope strands being supported at spaced points around the circumference of each of said rotors as well as lengthwise thereof.

8. A drapery finishing machine as defined in claim 1, and further including: a pair of steam distribution pipes disposed adjacent and parallel to said rotors and having a plurality of discharge orifices therein positioned to direct steam onto the opposite sides of said drapery as said flexible fingers rotate thereagainst.

9. A method for finishing draperies comprising the steps of:

suspending a cleaned drapery from an elevated support,

said drapery having pleats set at the head thereof;

laterally adjusting said drapery to bring the folds created by said pleats into horizontal alignment with a plurality of flexible fingers supported on a pair of opposed, horizon tally extending rotors between which said drapery is suspended;

rotating said oppositely disposed, flexible fingers against opposite sides of said drapery over substantially the entire length thereof by producing relative vertical motion between said drapery and said rotors, said oppositely disposed fingers being laterally offset with respect to each other and so spaced as to interleave with each other in the desired pleat folds of said drapery; and

adjusting the rotational speed of said rotors to a predetermined rate which will produce the desired tension and stretching effect on the particular material of said drapery by the rotating contact of said flexible fingers therewith. 

